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The Florida Bright Futures Scholarship is an excellent funding option for Floridians who wish to remain in the state for college or professional study and benefit from the scholarship. Read on to see the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship 2023 requirements and apply.

In this post, I will briefly explain the eligibility requirements before moving on to the application calendar. I’ll end with tips and strategies to help you get the best Bright Futures scholarship application possible.

More on Florida Bright Futures Scholarships 2023

There are three award levels in the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship: the Florida Academic Scholars Award, the Florida Medallion Scholars Award, and the Florida Gold Seal Vocational Scholars Award.

All three scholarships are easily renewable, meaning you can significantly lower your Florida Bright Bright Future Scholarship college costs over multiple years.

However, you may find it difficult to submit the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Application Form. It turns out that much of the process is streamlined and automated; You won’t have to jump through too many hoops to apply.

The eligibility requirements are slightly different, but if you meet these requirements, the application process should be fairly simple.

Level/field of study

The scholarship is available to college and vocational school students who wish to study in Florida.

Host Nationality

The Bright Futures 2023 Scholarship is hosted in the USA.

Eligible Nationality

The scholarship is open to residents of Florida, but if you are an international student looking for a scholarship to study abroad, you can check out our Study Abroad Scholarships  Available for  International Students.

NOTE: Our scholarship award-winning e-book ($50 value) is available. If you are reading this article, you have a chance to win one of our scholarship e-books. Get the free ebook by leaving your opinion about the article in the comment box.

Scholarship Value

The scholarship is available to help you finance your studies and is renewable.

How much does the Florida Bright Futures scholarship pay?

• Florida Academic Scholars (FAS) will receive 100% tuition and applicable fees, as well as $300 for summer and spring sessions, to cover additional training costs. In addition, students attending a public institution will be entitled to tuition and fees.

  FAS students may receive an award during summer sessions to cover applicable tuition and fees, beginning in the summer semester.

• Florida Medallion Scholars (FMS) will receive a scholarship that covers 75% of tuition and applicable fees. FMS students may receive an award during summer sessions to cover applicable tuition and fees, beginning in the summer semester of 2023.

• Applicable fees for both FAS and FMS include activity and service fees, health fees, athletic fees, financial aid fees, capital improvement fees, campus access/transportation fees, technology fees, and tuition differential fees.

In summary, the Bright Futures award amounts for the 2023 academic year:

• The Florida Academic Scholars Award is $212.71 per credit hour.
• The Florida Medallion Scholars Award is $159.53 per credit hour.
• The Academic Top Scholars Award is $44 per credit hour.

Bright Future Scholarship Eligibility

To apply for a Bright Futures Scholarship, the first step is to verify that you are indeed eligible for this scholarship. It’s not something you can do at the last minute, so to qualify for these awards, you need to spend more time thinking about bright futures in Florida.

Florida General Future Requirements

The following are the general requirements that apply to all Bright Futures Scholarships:

• You must be a resident of Florida and be a US citizen or eligible non-citizen (as determined by your university).
• You must complete the financial aid application in Florida by August 31 of your high school year.
• In addition, you must earn a Florida high school diploma or its equivalent from a Florida public high school or Florida Department of Education-registered private school.
• He shouldn’t have been convicted of a crime.
• Must be accepted and enrolled in a degree or certificate program at an eligible Florida public or independent postsecondary institution (post-secondary, college, vocational or professional program).
• Additionally, you must be enrolled for at least 6 (without remedy) credit hours per term.

Specific Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Requirements

There are several conditions for the Bright Future Scholarships, including minimum GPA, ACT/SAT, and hours of service requirements for all three Bright Future Scholarships.

The most competitive scholarship is the Florida Academic Scholars Program (FAS), followed by Florida Medallion Scholars (FMS) and then Gold Seal Vocational Scholars (GSV).

This diagram lists some of the key requirements for the FAS and FMS programs:

*Minimum SAT values ​​apply only to the “Critical Reading” and “Math” sections (on the SAT before March 2020) or to your all-new SAT score (if you took the SAT in March 2020 or later), both have a maximum score of 1600. Also, you don’t have to take both the SAT and the ACT, one is enough!

The GSV program differs slightly in terms of participation conditions. The minimum GPA required to qualify for the GSV program is 3.0 (weighted) in non-elective courses. The minimum service time is 30 hours.

The GSV exam score requirements are a bit more detailed (note that you only need to pass one of the following exams, but you cannot combine subsections from different exams):

There is more fine print when it comes to eligibility requirements for Florida Bright Futures scholarships.

For more detailed information on how to meet all of these requirements, check out our Bright Futures guide and handbook below.

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4 Steps to Apply for a Florida Bright Futures Scholarship

Much of this process is automated. So you won’t have to do much extra work outside of submitting the Florida Financial Aid Application and keeping an eye on your application to make sure everything is processed correctly.

If all eligibility requirements are met, you can start applying as early as December 1.

1: Submit the Florida Financial Assistance Application (FFAA)

The FFAA opens on December 1 of each year. Your Florida Bright Futures account login information will be sent to you after you submit the FFAA.

Just remember that you must submit your FFAA by August 31 of the year you graduate from high school, or you will not be eligible for a scholarship.

2: Take the ACT or SAT and submit your scores

The good news is that you will still need to take the ACT or SAT for college applications.

Submit your scores to any Florida public college or university to ensure that the Florida Department of Education, the institution that reviews Bright Futures applications; receives them.

3: Submit your official high school transcripts

More good news: Many schools will automatically submit your transcripts for your consideration.

However, it’s a good idea to check with your counselor about whether you need to take additional steps.

4: Keep your account information up to date

There are a number of things you can (and should) manage once you get your Bright Futures to account information:

+ Monitor your reported hours of service.
+ Update your post-secondary institution: Once you have been accepted/enrolled in an FL college or vocational school, I would make a note of this in your account.
+ Update any demographic information.
+ View your eligibility determination: Check your account once everything has been submitted to see if you are eligible for the scholarship.

Application timelines

There are two Bright Futures timelines to keep in mind if you’re ready to start the application process: Early Screening and Final Screening.

If you can plan your screening timeline early, you could find out about Bright Futures eligibility in March.

Early evaluation

If your transcripts are submitted for early review (based on academic progress by the middle of your senior year of high school and test scores taken before January 31), you will receive an eligibility notification posted to your online account.

These postings may begin as early as March, according to the Florida Department of Education.

Final evaluation

All students whose final transcripts are submitted after the last term of high school will have an eligibility notification posted to their online account.

These postings may begin in July, again according to the Florida Department of Education.

How to make your app stand out

Now that you know a little more about the eligibility requirements and the application process, you can focus on making your Bright Futures application the best it can be.

The good news is that, aside from making sure you meet all the eligibility requirements, there’s not much you have to do to make your application “stand out.”

If you meet the requirements for the FAS, FMS, or GSV scholarship, you will receive the scholarship. It’s as simple as that.

However, the bad news is that the eligibility requirements are strict. . There is no gray area: either you qualify because you meet all the requirements, or you don’t (no matter how close you are) and you don’t get a scholarship.

There are some eligibility gaps and exceptions for GED, homeschooled, and out-of-state students. You can learn more about them in our requirements guide.

Bright Future’s best strategy for success will focus on meeting eligibility requirements as early in your high school career as possible. The following tips will help you do just that, starting right now.

Course work

All Bright Futures scholarships require students to complete a certain set of high school courses. Therefore, you will likely meet all course requirements if you attended high school in Florida.

However, if you suspect there may be a problem, schedule a meeting with your guidance counselor.

GPA

It is difficult to significantly increase your GPA in a short period of time. Focus on your grades by choosing a realistic minimum GPA when you start your freshman year.

However, if you’re struggling to reach your goal, here are a few ways to mention that GPA:

• Take classes that are appropriate for your skill level, but if you’re not sure which classes are most appropriate, meet with your guidance counselor to discuss.
• See teachers for extra help in weak subject areas.

• Ask about extra credit assignments if possible.
• Take a look at our guide on how to increase your GPA.

Community service

The earlier you start reporting your community service hours, the fewer hours per week you will need to volunteer. If you begin to reduce this requirement as a senior, you will need to set aside 2-3 hours a week for community service.

However, if you are starting as a freshman, you will only need to volunteer 1-1.5 hours every two weeks.

You can’t earn money for your community service hours, but you can kill two birds with one stone and look for positions where you can gain interesting career experience.

Start by asking your friends and family for suggestions; Make sure you’re working with a legitimate agency that reliably tracks your hours.

Finally, set a schedule. Go at the same time every week or every other week so you don’t fall behind in completing your hours.

If you need help brainstorming, check out our guide to the best places to do community service.

Bright Futures Volunteer Hours 2023

For currently enrolled students expected to graduate in spring 2022 only, ss. 1009.534(1) and 1009.535(1), Florida Statute, and Rule 6A-20.028(3)(d), FAC, are suspended in part, to allow high school guidance counselors or other persons approved by a district school board or private school administrator, to submit transcript documentation to the Florida Department of Education to report completion of the required number of volunteer service hours for scholarship eligibility if the student

1) Completed hours of service;

2) had planned and intended to complete the hours of service prior to the student’s high school graduation, but were unable to do so because the pandemic created a lack of access to volunteer opportunities; either

3) if, due to health problems, the student did not complete the volunteer service hours.

Such documentation will be considered evidence that a student has completed the required number of hours of volunteer service for scholarship eligibility.

Students who have applied for the Bright Futures scholarship but were unable to complete the community service requirements should contact their school counselor for further instructions.

These students will be required to complete a quick questionnaire about their community service hours. This must be completed immediately.

Deadline for application

The deadline for submitting the application is August 31.

Scholarship link

For more information on Florida Bright Future Scholarships, please click here.

Bright Futures Scholarship FAQs

Conclusion

The Bright Futures Scholarships are open to all students pursuing a college degree. So, take the opportunity, build your GPA, complete your courses, and commit to community service to improve your chances.